by Bonnar King
I froze.
No, I didn’t fall on the floor. I fell on someone.
And that someone had the most piercing blue eyes I had ever seen in my life.
I was right on top of him. My fingers were clutching at the lapels of his coat, and my palms were flat on his chest, which was hard and unyielding under my touch. Our legs were practically intertwined, and I could feel his thighs against mine. They were just as hard as the rest of him.
I wrenched my eyes away from his intense gaze—only for them to land on his lips. They were sensual-looking lips, the kind that would be firm when he scolded someone and absolutely beautiful when he murmured sweet nothings. They were sexy, well-formed lips, and a part of me wondered what would happen if I leaned forward and—
Said lips smirked.
My head snapped back when I realized I had been leaning forward. Towards him.
Oh, my God.
I pulled back as if scalded, not stopping until I was standing on one foot. My other shoe was broken, and I couldn’t find my heel. Now that I wasn’t plastered all over him, I could see where exactly the coffee landed. Those brown spots on his coat weren’t going to go away soon, and it was all my fault.
I opened my mouth, prepared to apologize.
But he beat me to it.
“I could have lived with you continuing that kiss,” he said.
I blinked. There was a smug smile on his face and a knowing glint in his eyes. Suddenly, whatever tingles I felt disappeared, to be replaced by annoyance.
“I don’t kiss strangers,” I shot back.
Instead of letting it go, he stepped forward. I was immediately made aware of just how tall he was, and just how broad his shoulders were. He filled up the space without intending to, and the powerful alpha aura only served to make him look bigger.
“I could have sworn you were about to kiss me there,” he murmured in a low voice, his gaze settling on my mouth.
A jolt coursed through my stomach, shocking and sudden. Irritated, I raised my chin.
“You’re quite mistaken,” I clipped out. “I was actually trying not to hit the floor or headbutt you, which is why I put my hands out.”
His mouth quirked. I refused to look at it directly, knowing I already embarrassed myself enough with my ogling. Instead, I looked him in the eye, ignoring the second jolt through my stomach when I did.
This alpha was ridiculously attractive, even with all those coffee stains.
It should be illegal.
“You certainly have a mouth on you,” he countered my words, almost playfully. “Care to use that…somewhere else?”
His tone suddenly dropped. There was no mistaking what he meant. My mouth dropped open. He did not.
What an arrogant alpha-hole!
I told myself to stay calm. But my inner mantra didn’t help at all as I ended up still glaring at him. My hand tingled from the want to slap him. My body tingled from the want to…the want to what?
Horrified that my thoughts were going in that direction, I took a step back. Then I turned around and walked away, trying not to limp as I did so. I would have looked for my heel, but I refused to spend another second with that alpha. I was just going to have to find a way to make myself presentable again.
The stranger didn’t call me back, nor did he demand for cleaning service for his precious coat. It was just as well. His looks and attitude confused me—and that, in turn, annoyed me because I found him so attractive. He was a distraction that I didn’t need.
And I never wanted to see him again.
Once my footwear problem was fixed, I checked my watch again and cursed under my breath. I had less than ten minutes to get to the fifteenth floor. I basically ran for it, then hurriedly walked out of the elevator when I got to my destination. It was yet another lobby—a smaller one this time, with lush maroon carpeting and muted lights. I zoned in on the blonde, young-looking secretary on the front desk, who was watching me approach.
“Hi! Where do I go for my first meeting with Mr. Shaw?” I chirped.
It spoke of his professionalism that the secretary didn’t so much as blink at my manic tone. He smiled back politely and consulted his computer before turning to me.
“Mr. Arthur?”
“Yes.”
“Please go ahead. Mr. Shaw is waiting in his office. Room 153.”
I thanked him and headed in that direction. I paused at the door, smoothing down my clothes and taking a deep breath.
This was it—my first meeting with the CEO. I had to make it count.
I knocked, waiting for the muffled voice to tell me to come in. Then I opened the door, pasting a bright smile on my face as I did so. I closed the door and walked inside, eyeing the lush office and the bright aquarium at the side before I turned my gaze to the alpha standing in front of his desk.
Brilliant shoes, polished to perfection. Well-fitting black slacks, and a white dress shirt that hugged his muscled form perfectly. He was holding a folder in one hand, and in the other…a coffee-stained coat.
My eyes flew up.
Shock filled me as familiar, intense blue eyes gazed back.
It was the hot alpha from the elevator!
3
Caden
The first thing I noticed when he entered the room was the lack of heel-clicking on the floor. A quick glance below confirmed it. He’d removed the other heel, turning his shoes into plain closed ones and essentially eliminating the problem of having only one heel. Pretty resourceful. Although I wished he had stayed behind to look for the other one, but I guess he was too prideful.
The second thing I noticed was the stiff way he held himself once he saw me. He held himself rigid, as if doing otherwise was not an option. He stepped forward, torn between horror and shock before he changed expression to a blank stare.
“Good morning. Mr. Shaw?”
I smiled slowly. Then I nodded my head.
“Tony Arthur, I presume?”
Silence. I waited for him to step forward and bravely tell me what was already running in his mind—that he wanted to slap me, most probably. Hell, I braced myself for it.
Instead, he nodded, his face a mask of professionalism. I motioned for him to sit while I took out some folders. Then I sat down on my chair, too, opening his file right before I let my gaze focus on him again.
He stubbornly trained his gaze on the desk, which allowed me to study his features further. His brown hairstyle was as plain as they came—except for the way it turned almost golden brown whenever he tilted his head a certain angle. His lips were full and soft-looking, making me itch to do more than sit down on this stuffy chair. His body? A perfectly toned twink, omega body, but curves in all the right places—namely, the ass. Just waiting to be touched.
But it was his eyes that demanded my attention the most.
“Mr. Arthur.”
Tony looked up. They were green—a clear green that darkened into emeralds when he was mad or outraged, like he’d been earlier. I wondered what other emotion would make his eyes darken.
The thought alone had me hardening inside my pants.
To distract myself, I read him—my new personal assistant—the responsibilities he needed to fulfil in his time here, and the achievements I expected from him in order to pass his probation requirements. Normally, this was not something the CEO of a company did, but I liked to be hands on with my own personal assistants. However, this time I wanted to literally be hands-on with this sexy, little omega.
As I explained what I needed, Tony listened intently, never once interrupting or asking any questions. But I got the feeling he was inwardly taking note of every word I was saying.
The thought made me smirk. Unable to resist, I asked him what he was expecting to achieve here, and I listened as he started speaking—quietly at first, until his words got to him and passion entered his tone.
There was a fiery spirit under all that cool, calm façade, and I couldn’t wait to let it out.
As Tony talked, I
couldn’t help my eyes from straying to his mouth again. It was such a beautiful mouth, and I imagined it wrapped around something of mine that was only hardening further the more he talked. Then I imagined that mouth and that fiery spirit combined as he lay face-down in my bed, while I thrust inside him and fucked him raw. The thought alone had me stifling a groan.
He was even more of a bombshell than I remembered from the elevator—the kind that needed cajoling before he fully came out of his shell. I liked aggressive omegas fine, but there was just something about this meek-looking beauty that made me want to help him discover his sexual side. I knew it from the first time I saw him pass by the hallway as he hurried off for his interview for this exact position.
“I hope my expectations are to your liking, Mr. Shaw,” Tony finished quietly. Calmly. “I’m really grateful to be hired out of the hundreds of potential candidates you probably had, and I promise to do my best to make you and this company proud.”
His tone was sincere. His voice was like pure whisky, husky and throaty and completely in contrast with his almost demure appearance. Was there more than meets the eye with this omega? What else was he hiding under that personality? What else was he was holding back?
“Just do good and we’ll get along well,” I said before closing the file. I took out two more folders and handed them to Tony, telling him to read the guidelines and everything he needed to know about Shaw Enterprises.
As he reached for the folders, I deliberately let our arms brush. His eyes flared, which was to be expected. It was rare for omegas to not have a reaction on me. But he played it off well, moving his arm away quickly and practically snatched the folders from my hand, as if my touch alone would burn him.
“Please go to Kevin Nolan. He’s the blonde at the reception area. He will give you a tour and get you acquainted and set up your orientation.”
“Of course.”
“And if you have…anything else you need, you may come to me. Anything,” I said, my voice turning low.
Our eyes met, blue on green. I could sense there was a swirl of emotions running in him and I felt a jolt in my stomach that pleased me. Thoroughly. He saw it. But he gave me a cool, professional smile.
“Thank you, Mr. Shaw. I’ll be on my way now.”
Damn. This omega was harder to break than I thought.
Despite his stiff shoulders, his ass jiggled as he walked towards the door. I watched, mesmerized, fighting the urge to pull him back, lock the door and have my way with him on my desk. On the floor. Against the wall—hard and fast until he was begging for more.
My cock was iron hard now. I inwardly sighed.
Fuck. I was so horny.
Yes, my decision to hire him had been spontaneous. Hell, I didn’t even glance at the other candidates, despite the fact that they were probably more qualified than he could ever be.
Was it unprofessional and an abuse of my power? You bet your ass it was, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t control myself after I first saw him. I had never seen a cute omega like Tony before, so I did everything in my power to make sure I’d get to see him.
Tony Arthur was the omega I wanted, and he was the omega I was going to have.
4
Tony
Whoever said working as a personal assistant was easy probably hadn’t really thought about the tasks involved in the job. Screw them.
Two weeks into my job, I still had a lot to learn. As an Information Management graduate with IT-related classes, I knew I had knowledge when it came to technical terms and all basic technological know-how. But in my short time working at Shaw Enterprises, I realized that whatever knowledge I had in school was simply not enough.
On that first day, right after that eventful meeting with the ever-arrogant Caden Shaw, I was passed over to the young secretary I met at the lobby. His name was Kevin Nolan, and Kevin showed me around the building and explained the roles of each department, and the important people involved. It was dizzying to learn all the names and roles all at once—but Kevin was very patient, even joking that I’d get used to it if I stayed here long enough. I reminded myself to research everything when I got home. In the meantime, I followed Kevin like a puppy the whole day, surprised to find out that he’d been working in the company for only a year but was loving it so far.
The next day, I was back inside Caden’s office, bracing myself for another sight of him. I knew the jolt would come, and this time I managed to ignore it and act as professional as possible, even giving him a polite smile when he asked how I was doing so far. I told him I had learned a lot from Kevin and was ready to do my job. Caden handed me some papers to review, telling me that they were proposals for the new software app the company was going to launch. There had been a board meeting held just last week, and these proposals were the ones that interested him the most—hence, the ones he wanted to review before giving his final approval in the matter. I understood that my review was some kind of test, and so I did my best to finish it all before the end of the day and gave him my thoughts.
I could feel Caden’s eyes on me the whole time I was telling him my views and reading the notes I jotted down—and to be honest, it was kind of intimidating. I became aware that Caden was the type of alpha who never made any unnecessary movements. He just sat on his desk and watched me, never interrupting.
Suddenly I realized that he was like a predator, one with power and grace. Like a wolf, ready to pounce on its prey at any second.
I was the prey.
When I was done with my review, I waited nervously for him to berate me or to give a snide comment. I only used layman terms and was pretty sure my review wasn’t as succinct as it should have been. Once again, it reminded me of my luck to be even hired in this position in the first place.
Imagine my surprise when Caden merely nodded his head. Then my surprise continued when he began to give his own version of my review, blowing my mind away with how he adjusted my words and added a few touches of his own to make it all sound polished and more professional. Caden explained that he was teaching me this because there were times when I needed to speak for him on such matters whenever he was late or had other things to attend to first. Our eyes met again—blue on green, and I could swear I saw a flare of something erotic flash in them.
Before it could fully develop into something more, I was backing away and thanking him stiffly. Then I was walking out the door, feeling my face growing hot.
The next few days passed by without incident. I usually had lunch with Kevin, who had taken a liking to me and decided to take me under his wing. I could tell he’d made a lot of friends in his time here when familiar faces would stop by to chat with him at the table. Some would sit with us, but the thing I was still getting used to was that everyone’s lunchtime was different, and it was rare for everyone to be in the cafeteria at the same time. I did my best to be friendly at those that showed interest, but mostly kept to myself.
“Happy two weeks on the job,” Kevin said once we got our sandwiches and sat down. “How is it so far?”
“It’s good,” I said, taking a bite. I was hungry as hell, with lots of paperwork to look forward to when I got back. Oh, boy. My desk was in the same room as the CEO, but in a tiny closed cubicle, giving me the privacy I needed.
“And how’s Mr. Shaw?” Kevin asked knowingly.
I could see the gleam in his eye. I could see the gleam in everyone’s eyes, mostly because I wasn’t stupid and they didn’t really hide it much. I killed Kevin insinuation before it could take form, shooting him a look.
“He’s been very professional and a good boss,” I said firmly. “He challenges me on my job, and isn’t afraid to mince words when he needs to get something done correctly.”
Kevin looked disappointed at my response. His blonde head tilted to the side. “So, he hasn’t made any moves on you?”
Those intense, watchful blue eyes didn’t count as moves, right?
“No,” I replied.
“Oh,” he mutt
ered. “Now that’s disappointing.”
I gave him a puzzled look. “Why?”
Kevin shrugged. “We all know as the new CEO, Mr. Shaw’s getting his fair share of attention—and not just in the work department. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed his looks.”
Oh, I have. I really have.
“What does that have to do with the disappointment?” I asked instead.
“Well, there’s one thing we all also know about Mr. Shaw: he’s a omega-magnet. He flirts and seduces any omega he wants without hesitation, but I have yet to see him sleep with the staff. That’s the disappointing part. I was actually kind of hoping he’d flirt with you, considering the close quarters you’ve been in.”
“He…hasn’t,” I murmured, still not understanding.
“That’s sad,” he said. “I mean, if he flirted with you and tried to sleep with you, then we’d know that he’s not opposed to office romance. It would give me a shot, so to speak.”
The thoughtful tone in Kevin’s voice could not be mistaken. I kept quiet, realizing there was more to this matter than he was letting on. I decided then and there that I had to act more professional than ever now, especially if people even so much as speculated Caden doing more than work with me in his office. Sleeping with the boss was a sure-fire way to get ostracized, as well as risk your job. Pretty much career suicide once word got out.
I vowed never to let even the idea cross my work life.
After lunch, it was back to the grind and working like a horse. Caden hadn’t been around much in the morning, but he’d left me some papers to arrange and review again, with instructions to organize them and keep the less-prioritized ones in the stockroom. It took me the better half of the afternoon to finish doing so, and by the time I was done in the organizing part, it was already past my shift.
I thought to myself, I might as well finish it since I was still there. I stood up from my desk and stretched my muscles, my neck cramped and my eyes tired from all the reading and stooping. I carried the files in one go over to the stockroom, which was just across the hall.